Page 7 - DLIS407_INFORMATION AND LITERATURE SURVEY IN SOCIAL SCIENCES

Information and Literature Survey in Social Sciences

Notes Administration, Sociology, and Social Work. Though these sciences are treated as separate branches
of knowledge for the purpose of study, they are interdependent studies of the different aspects of
the same object, viz., man.

Caution Social Sciences are not exact science like physical sciences, as they, unlike the
latter, deal with human beings.

Human nature and man’s environment are so complex that it is more difficult to comprehend and
predict human behaviour than the physical phenomena. No two persons are alike in feelings, drives or
emotions. No one person is consistent from one moment to another. The behaviour of human beings
is influenced by biological, psychological, socio-cultural, temporal and environmental factors. It is
difficult to see the underlying uniformities in the diversity of complex human behaviour. A controlled
experiment, which is sine qua non of an empirical science, is generally impossible in social sciences.
The study of social sciences is considered as vital for the future of the society throughout the world
and provides many degrees in the respective fields.
The Public Administration, one of the main branches of political science, can be described as the
development, implementation and study of branches of government policy. The non-government
organizations (NGO’s) are working for the betterment of the society throughout the world.
The social sciences are sometimes criticized as being less scientific than the natural sciences in that
they are seen as being less rigorous or empirical in their methods. This claim has been made in the
so-called science wars and is most commonly made when comparing social sciences to fields such
as physics, chemistry or biology in which corroboration of the hypothesis is far more incisive with
regard to data observed from specifically designed experiments. Social sciences can thus be deemed
to be largely observational, in that explanations for cause-effect relationships are largely subjective.
A limited degree of freedom is available in designing the factor setting for a particular observational
study. Social scientists however, argue against such claims by pointing to the use of a rich variety of
scientific processes, mathematical proofs, and other methods in their professional literature.
The modern world is making progress by leaps and bounds and the social sciences have its vital role
in the development of the world. The following main branches of social science deal with the main
issues facing by the modern world.
The human being is surrounded by the unlimited problems and as a human being one needs to solve
them desperately.

Notes Scope of Social Work
Social work is concerned with social problems, their causes, their solutions and
their human impacts. Social workers work with individuals, families, groups,
organizations and communities. Social Work is the profession committed to
the pursuit of social justice, to the enhancement of the quality of life, and to the
development of the full potential of each individual, group and community
in society.

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